A President and two courts
Rickey Singh
IT IS good to know there are some well-meaning people out there who admire Trinidad and Tobago's President Arthur Robinson enough for his contributions in the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court, that they have recommended him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Robinson, as a former Prime Minister, was also primarily responsible for getting on the agenda some ten years ago the issue of a Caribbean Court of Appeal, an institution that may now become a reality in 2000 as a Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). It is to be hoped that the recently disclosed nomination of Robinson by the Parliamentarians for Global Action, a United Nations affiliated non-government organisation, wins the favour of the Nobel Committee. But I am not holding my breath. It seems more certain that Robinson will witness the inauguration of a final regional appellate court, for which he has been a strong advocate, than in securing a Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions toward the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The late Prime Minister of Jamaica, Michael Manley, was also an activist for the establishment of the ICC. But the Global Action people are right in saying that Robinson has been a "driving force" behind creation of the Court as part of his years of labour in the promotion and defence of democracy and human rights. A question of relevance is whether the nomination itself is not somewhat premature, considering the fact that though well recognised as a very good initiative, the ICC is yet to be operationalised and make its impact. While the CARICOM states are among some 79 nations to have signed the Rome Statute of July 1998 for establishment of the ICC, it requires at least 60 states to deposit their instruments of ratification for the Court to become a functional institution, hopefully with the dawn of the new millennium. Trinidad and Tobago and Senegal were the first of few countries to ratify the Treaty. And the world's sole superpower, USA, is yet to sign up for the Court. Robinson, who was one of four recipients at last year's CARICOM Summit of the Community's highest award, Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), has distinguished himself for his work as a lawyer and politician of this region in the cause of human rights and democracy. Despite criticisms from his detractors, let it be said that it was Robinson's concept of the humanisation of power that had inspired his own efforts in the long quest for the creation of an International Criminal Court. Caribbean Court of Justice His respect for human dignity, justice and independence of the judiciary had also influenced his initiative at the historic 1989 CARICOM Summit in Grenada for establishment of a West Indian Commission and the pursuit of a Caribbean Court of Appeal to replace Britain's Privy Council as a final appellate court of member nations of the Community. After years of deliberations and, in more recent times, at least four major revisions by an inter-governmental task force, an Agreement to establish a Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as a final appellate court may at last be given the long elusive green light. As some Attorneys General go on the defensive against their critics who claim that the emerging consensus to have the CCJ cannot be disassociated from a rush to expedite judicial executions, strong and eloquent support for replacement of the Privy Council have been coming from a few very prominent members of the judiciary. The latest is the Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago, Michael de la Bastide. As he said recently, after 37 years of independence, it was high time to sever relations with the Privy Council and for Trinidad and Tobago to have "our own final appellate court". Robinson, naturally, welcomes such influential voices in support of a regional appellate court. And it is quite likely that at 72 he could see the operationalising of such an institution - even though initially with no more than four of the CARICOM states - while a Nobel Prize remains a dream to be fulfilled. In contrast to the very positive stance of the Chief Justice de la Bastide, Jamaica's Edward Seaga, a former Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader, continues to do the twist on the right of access to the Privy Council. Seaga's latest position suggests that while he was prepared to throw the support of his Jamaica Labour Party behind removing the Queen as head of state of Jamaica in a new republican form of governance, he wants the right of appeal to the Privy Council to be retained. For CARICOM heads of government who will be assembling in Port-of-Spain next month for their 20th regular summit, the issue they must confront is how to bolster confidence in the independence of the proposed regional appellate court. Mechanisms are provided for in the final draft for the Caribbean Court of Justice on the selection of a President and judges of such a court, their powers and independence. Next month's CARICOM Summit is widely expected to give the final approval for the CCJ to come on stream in 2000 and probably headquartered in Port-of-Spain
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